PRO-7: Bohol operation legal

CEBU, Philippines - The top official of Police Regional Office-7 said the operation in Bohol that killed former PO1 Owen Rosales and four other alleged drug suspects was legitimate.

PRO-7 OIC Sr. Supt. Orlando Ualat, in defense to his men, clarified that the shooting was not overkill, saying that using force against the suspects was necessary.

He said the firearms recovered proved that the suspects were armed, so it was impossible for the police not to use force by also using their firearms in shooting the suspects who opened fire at them.

After being tipped by concerned citizens, Bohol police verified the report on the suspects’ alleged hideout that led them to the location of Rosales’ group and eventually to a shootout, said Ualat.

The PRO-7 head directed the Regional Intelligence Division to dig deeper in the investigation and to verify if there were policemen who engaged in the shootout but were not supposedly part of the operation.

Information leaked by a reliable source that Rosales is not the real big shot as there is someone bigger than him who operates in Bohol.

In an interview with Chief Inspector Alvin Futalan of Bohol Provincial Intelligence Branch, he said that if there are police officers involved in the incident, it is most likely that there are also politicians involved.

Futalan welcomed the order to investigate the case deeper, saying that the suspects took down the life of a good policeman, referring to Ubay, Bohol chief, Chief Insp. George Caña.

He said they will exhaust all efforts to find the person who is really behind the incident.

Ualat sent an order to all police station chiefs in Bohol to be vigilant and not to ignore death threats since four of their station chiefs have been killed. All killings were related to the police officials’ campaign against illegal drugs.

“If dunay ma-receive na death threat, dili sila mokompyansa and take it seriously,” Ualat said.

Bien Unido Bohol Mayor Ni?o Rey Boniel said in a statement that the incident serves as a warning to those involved in illegal drugs, saying that they will exert all their efforts to fight against it.

“We are hopeful that with these developments, the illegal drug activities in the Province of Bohol will be totally eradicated,” Boniel said. —/NSA (FREEMAN)